This is a core course runs for all majors containing an English component and its contact hours and credit workload varies according to different degrees.

For English Studies students: The course comprises 45 academic hours of contact hours (both lectures and seminars) during the Spring Term (Second term) of the academic year for second year students and awards 4 credits.

For Applied Linguistics (English and another language) and Linguistics and IT (English and another language): The course comprises 30 contact hours in lectures and seminars and runs in the Spring Term for first year students, awarding 3 credits.

For Applied Linguistics where English is a Second Foreign Language: The course is for second year students during the Fall Term and comprises 30 contact hours, awarding 4 credits.

Note: Lists of readings for different majors may vary, according to linguistic competence and credit weight

Competence expectations

Students taking this course are expected to

have an advanced to proficiency level of English (upper-intermediate where English is a Second Foreign Language)

be interested in American Culture Studies

A useful background to the course are previous courses in any of the following: Introduction to British Studies, Critical Theory, Critical Reading and Writing

Aims and objectives of the course

This course provides students with an introduction to key concepts in the interdisciplinary approach to American Studies and a general awareness of its disposition as a field. The focus will be upon trans-historical ideas that have structured the ideological field of the American imaginary, while at the same time enabling students to discuss and analyze their manifestations in texts of a variety of genres: fiction, philosophical essays, policy documents, court cases, etc.

By the end of the course, students will have:

become familiar with some of the most important and influential concepts in American history and culture, as well as with some of the major cultural events in American history

acquired a sense of the development of American ideology over the course of its history

acquired a repertoire of relevant terms and improved their ability to apply them

improved their ability to analyze ideological formations and debates, particularly with regard to race, class, and gender

improved written and oral presentation skills, especially with a view to reading texts within their contexts of production and circulation from a historical perspective

Course requirements

To successfully complete the course, students should:

attend seminar discussions regularly

watch all the assigned documentary film texts in the course

complete their reading assignments on a weekly basis (about 10-20 pages per week)

take an end-term Quiz

sit for an exam

Mode of assessment

Active participation in seminar discussions and occasional oral presentations on a given topic/text – 40%

Quiz – 40%

Exam – Essay discussion 20% (the first two may lead to exam exemption)